5 Things you don’t NEED to do during Pregnancy & what you can do instead

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Pregnancy (especially your first one) can seem SO overwhelming. You’ve either been trying to get pregnant and waiting for that positive test or you have just been thrown into this totally shocked.

I was personally in the first group with my first pregnancy and the second group with my second pregnancy. One thing I noticed both times was that there were reels and posts about pregnancy that freaked me out about what was to come and things I would seemingly need to settle for.

I was not about settling or being told how my pregnancy was going to go. I’m going to tell you about 5 things you don’t need to settle for or buy during your pregnancy.

·      How I got started on this journey of not accepting the “norm” during my pregnancies

·      Why you don’t need to settle for 5 minute appointments with your OB/GYN

·      How to get around drinking the glucola drink for your glucose testing

·      Why you don’t need everything on every registry list

·      Why the pregnancy pillow might be a total waste of money

·      Why you don’t need to be afraid of delivery/childbirth and how to best prepare yourself

I was absolutely the person who thought I needed to have every single baby item that has ever been created in the world today. I have wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, so by the time I got pregnant and was making my baby registry, I knew many items I already wanted. However, there was A LOT more than even I realized and I had to quickly figure out what we actually needed and what was best for our lifestyle.

I also would consider myself “scrunchie”. For those of you that don’t know, this is sort of a lifestyle where you take a much more natural approach to life/health/wellness, but you are not completely strict with it. In our house, we reach for natural remedies before Tylenol, make sourdough bread & overall live a “healthier” lifestyle. But we also eat at Chic Fil A and get Starbucks sometimes because we love that too.

My scrunchie approach to life also meant that some things would be different during my pregnancies. I had questions (a lot of them) and I knew I wanted a doctor that was open to my approach but also was willing to answer my questions and make me feel at ease.

 I learned as my first pregnancy went on that it was a lot about my mindset and the fact that I was completely comfortable standing up for myself. You have to be your biggest advocate and I want to help you with that!

Why you don’t need to settle for 5 minute appointments with your OB/GYN:

Once I was pregnant and the algorithm found out, all of my suggested reels on social media were related to pregnancy. I kept seeing reel after reel about how you only see your doctor for 5 minutes at each appointment. This felt wildly inadequate to me.

I was in the possibly fortunate position of having to establish with a new Obstetrician for my 8-week appointment because we had just moved states and I hadn’t found someone new yet. I used this first appointment to “interview” her and let her know how I was hoping to have my pregnancy go and the type of person I was – meaning I was not going to google everything in between visits, and I would be asking her all of my questions.

One thing I learned early on is that your provider works for you. End of story. If you do not like how your appointments are going, or you do not feel like you are being heard, or you are uncomfortable for any reason, you can change providers!! This is YOUR pregnancy and you deserve to have all of the information you want.

There are obviously other routes you can go – such as a midwife – and those can be great too! But if you want an MD, just remember that there are options and you can make it the experience you want!

How to get around drinking the glucola drink for your glucose testing

Like I said above, I knew going into pregnancy I would be doing things a little differently and this was top of my list. I had just found Fresh Test and knew I wanted to do that. I communicated that with my doctor at my 8-week appointment (I know a little ahead of the game..) and she understood. I simply ordered Fresh Test about a month in advance and followed the instructions. I had to bring my own water (you need 10 oz), so I measured at home and saved the mixing for when I arrived. I LOVED the taste of Fresh Test. It tasted like delicious lemonade, and I had a hard time taking the full 5 minutes because I just wanted to drink it.

You can get your Fresh Test here! 

Another option if you just want to skip the glucola, is testing your sugars with a glucose monitor. I do not know a ton about this option in particular option, as I just did the Fresh Test. I asked my doctor a little about it and you get your supplies ordered through your doctor and they will give you instructions on what to do. Basically, you measure your sugars for a period of time at various times throughout the day. At the hospital system I deliver at, they do put your baby on the glucose protocol (as if you had gestational diabetes) when they are born since you did not technically “pass” a glucose test. Talk to your doctor for more information and details on this!

The last option I know of is to go through a local birthing center to do a Fresh Test there. If your hospital/doctor’s office does not allow the Fresh Test and you do not want to test your sugars, you can test at a birthing center that does the testing! We have one local to me that will do a glucose test for you and you could always share those results with your doctor.

 As with anything medical related, it is best to reach out to your provider and get all of the information to make the most informed decision possible. None of this is medical advice, it is simply a mama sharing her experiences.

Why you don’t need everything on every registry list

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I began making lists and lists of everything we needed. I looked at list after list from every influencer I had ever seen and even found new ones and waited for them to tell me what I needed to get. The list was long. Everyone had different thoughts/ideas on what you should get and what would be helpful. I combined all of those perspectives and made a huge list and got allll of it.

I will say, I stand by most of the items we got and I was happy to have at least tried it. However, your life is not the influencer’s life or your neighbor’s, or sisters’. I do have a blog (here) with a huge list of all the things I loved to have, if you’re interested. But I would tell you to take a really good look at what you minimally need to get the precious lil baby home and then decide later on what you need as you go.

One thing that was wildly popular when I had my first was the Halo bassinets. I loved that it moved around, had mesh sides and the side could dip down so you could check on the baby. The thing I did not realize is that my new little baby wouldn’t be little for long. He was too tall for it in a matter of weeks, and we were putting him in his crib. As it turned out, he preferred his crib, but it was a huge bummer to have a bassinet we only used for a few weeks. Oh and it was basically impossible to store….

We also skipped a wipe warmer because everyone said they were pointless. Which truly, they are NOT a need at all. But now that I stay home and about 90% of my son’s diapers are changed at home, we thought it might be nice to have warm wipes. (Especially in the winter when the temps can reach deep into the negatives where we live). Ultimately you need to do what is best for your family and the way you live life.

Why the pregnancy pillow might be a total waste of money

I thought that once I got my pregnancy pillow, all my sleeping woes would be out the door. Boy was I wrong. I know that this is the hill so many women will die on, but I just am not one of them.

Here is my recommendation…borrow a pregnancy pillow from a friend or sister and see if it helps you! There are about a million and one on the market, which makes it even more difficult to choose.

The reason I did not like my pregnancy pillow was because I found it impossible to move around with it. I move pretty consistently throughout the night, especially when pregnant. I would toss and turn and had to move the pillow with me or I had to turn in the pillow which was also a little difficult. Add to that that I had two dogs that sometimes share our bed and it was a recipe for disaster.

This second time around, I have just used a pillow between my knees when I am on my sides. This helps support my hips and I can still move around well. Extra bonus…there is room for the pups.

Why you don’t need to be afraid of delivery/childbirth and how to best prepare yourself 

I’m sure you have heard a horror story or two about birth. With the internet and social media, stories can get spread around faster than wildfire. I am NOT discounting these stories or say thing that any of these women did anything wrong.

What I do know is that millions of women before us birthed babies and there are many that were great and healthy. Now we have a healthcare system that has a number of interventions. While these interventions can be lifesaving and are incredible tools when used at the right time, they can also change your delivery outcome when you use them out of convenience or lack of knowledge.

I truly believe women’s bodies are meant to give birth and were uniquely created to do so. The trick to this though, is doing labor and delivery the way our bodies were made to.

I used the Pain Free Birth class and LOVED it. I was able to deliver my first son with no meds and no interventions. I had many people laugh at me when I told them I was going to take this class and planned to use her methods during delivery. This class does not guarantee that birth will be easy, but it does give you the tools to lean into your body and partner with your baby to have a beautiful birth.

You can find the class here!